• Advocating for regular and timely reporting of cases by national centres.

• Opening the database primarily to people with legitimate interests in promoting public health and competence in drug safety monitoring.

• Advocating for a global policy statement on the sharing of information on adverse drug reactions and the need for ADR monitoring to override privacy concerns when the public health interest is paramount.

Pharmacovigilance is a truly global activity both in its conduct and impact; WHO-agreed definitions, tools and practices should be regarded as the sole world standards. The current WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring should be strengthened in its role as the mandated global pharmacovigilance system. All ICH member states should be encouraged to participate actively in the WHO Programme, and contribute to its development. WHO should continue to review regularly the Programme’s definitions, tools, and procedures in the light of developments in safety in medicine, and the work of other groups.